Happy Happy Anniversary Pride & Prejudice. Can you believe it’s been 200 years? It’s amazing when you think about it that something written so long ago still has such a hold on so many individuals, still inspires such passion in our hearts and minds. I cannot tell you how excited I am to celebrate this milestone and to be able to co-host this fabulous event with author Alyssa Goodnight. Thank you to each and every one of you who are joining us and helping make the Pride and Prejudice 200th Anniversary Party Hop possible.

My love of Jane Austen is something very dear to my heart. This love is something that happened so early on in my life -it has become such an engrained part of who I am as a person and my personality that it’s hard to really remember myself before. Digging further, Pride and Prejudice is an especially personal work for me. I came to love it at the age of 13 when I first read the book…soon after I laid my eyes upon Colin Firth and my Mr. Darcy found a forever face in my mind. It’s also a very very special book for me because of it’s connection to my great great grandmother.

My Granny was a reader. As a child I often spent time with her since she lived only two houses down. She watched me while my mother worked and summers were spent in her care as well. My grandmother was a life-long reader. She owned multiple bookshelves and perusing them became a favorite past time of mine from a very young age. I loved staying up nights reading with her and making my way through her personal bookshelves knowing each book had been read and selected by her. Unfortunately around the age of ten, I was no longer able to spend time with my Granny. She began to suffer from dementia and quickly lost the ability to live on her own, take care of herself and even recognize me. To her the adult Courtney was unconceivable, she pictured me as a little girl and so I stayed away as not to upset her. Needless to say I was devastated. Although she did not pass away until my early twenties…our relationship ended too early and a large hole was put into my heart much before she left this earth. While my grandmother never shared Pride and Prejudice with me personally (I suspect she would have had I reached the age), she did encourage a love of reading that defines me and the path I have chosen in life. When she died I was desperate to revisit our special times and luckily her entire book collection became my very own. By this time I was a devoted Janeite…imagine my joy when I discovered tucked amongst her books her very own copy of Pride and Prejudice.

My Grandmother had a unique habit when she read a book. She would write her name and the year she read it within the cover. However she did not do it to every book she owned. I suspect she started in later in life so her earlier books remained blank. When I saw that copy of Pride and Prejudice I literally burst into tears but then immediately prayed that it contained her handwritten name as well. As I opened the cover I could not contain myself, inside was her name in the handwriting I will never forget to the day I die. To this day that book is one of most prized and valued objects. It is not only one of my favorite books by my favorite author…it is a link to my Granny. A symbol that she and I are forever linked and so very similar. Though she left me too early, I know she would be so proud of who I have become. For that reason Pride and Prejudice goes so far beyond being just any book. And that one volume means the sun, moon and stars when I hold it in my hands.

Jane Austen Journal Giveaway

Please remember to join in and travel to all our wonderful participants in this hop…some may even have goodies up for grabs. Speaking of goodies, I wanted to give away something Austen themed for this very special occasion. So the lovely Jane Austen journal below will be finding a home with one of you dear readers. I own one myself and love to jot down quotes that jump out for me and even after over 15 years of Austen, I still come across lines that make me think, laugh and smile. So want to add this journal to your collection of Jane Austen items? It’s very easy to be entered…just share a Pride and Prejudice moment or memory with all of us as we share and celebrate on this very special 200th anniversary. Happy Anniversary Pride and Prejudice…here’s to 200 more years and once again “Bravo” dear Jane.

26 responses to “Pride & Predjudice 200th Anniversary Party Hop”

What a wonderful thing to have. My grandmother wasn’t a reader. My mom was, but we don’t like the same things. I loved the relationship between Jane and Elizabeth. I always wished I had a sister like either of them. I also like to think they got the husband’s they deserved. 🙂

A Pride and Prejudice memory for me is when I first wantched the movie. Guh, I was in love. I watched it about three times that first day, and hundreds of times since then. I moved on to the book, and, if possible, fell even further in love.
Happy Birthday, Pride and Prejudice. Much love.

I love P&P! I remember the first time I watched the 1995 version of the movie I did not realize that it was a 5 hour movie and I would up watching it until around 3 in the morning because I had to find out how the story ended. After that I was hooked. I have seen several versions and even introduced my British Literature Student teacher to the 2003 version when I was in High School.

I understand the pain of coping with a loved one’s dementia. My mother suffers from it. What a joy that your grandmother shared her love of literature with you!
My P&P memory is that I first read the book online!

When I first sat down to read Pride and Prejudice for the very first time, I was too young to appreciate or probably to even understand half the words in the book. But when I picked it up quite a few years later I had a changed opinion 🙂

Sarah- It’s an amazing thing but as I re-read P&P over and over again through the years…it seems that I get something different out of it at different ages and times in my life. As a teen, as an adult, as a wife…it feels as though every stage in life helps me to appreciate it in different ways. I think that is a testament to what a wonderful and impactful novel it truly is.

It’s actually because of my older daughter that I rediscovered Pride and Prejudice several years ago now. She read it, loved it, we watched the 2005 movie and I had to go back to the book. We have now watched that movie together numerous times and still love it!

Happy Birthday P&P! Such a timeless story, it’s hard to believe its 200 years old! My favorite classic, hands down. I love that whenever I pick it up, it’s like visiting an old friend. My copy is so worn :o)

My introduction to Pride and Prejudice was through the Laurence Olivier B&W movie when I was a child and I loved it. I read it when I was about fifteen and it has been my favorite book ever since. I have several versions of it but my favorite is a 1945 copy by Doubleday with lovely color illustrations of the main characters and other drawings by Robert Ball. Of course, these days Colin is definitely Mr. Darcy!

Thank you so very much to everyone who participated in this wonderful event and visited here at Stiletto Storytime for the P & P extravaganza! Random Number Generator has chosen one lucky winner to become the owner of this Jane Austen journal….and the winner is Lieder Madchen! Congrats Lieder and thanks to all that entered. Happy Birthday one more time to my beloved “Pride & Prejudice”…and as always Happy Reading to All!